Gabriel Weber, left, plays Sebastian, while Alyosha Pushak plays Sir Andrew Augecheek and Dana Beecroft plays Olivia in the upcoming production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night by the theatre group affiliated with St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Penticton. The two performances will take place the evening of Aug. 11 and 12 at the gorgeous Tinhorn Creek winery amphitheatre stage. (Peter D’Aoust photo)
Local theatre fans are in for a rare treat as a Penticton theatre group will be performing a classic William Shakespeare play in a gorgeous outdoor setting next week.
The theatre company associated with the St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Penticton will be staging Shakespeare’s classic comedy Twelfth Night on Tuesday, Aug. 11 and Wednesday, Aug. 12 in the beautiful outdoor stage at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, located between Oliver and Osoyoos.
While there have been other theatre companies from Penticton that have performed at Tinhorn Creek in the past, it has been several years since it has happened and the members of his theatre group are thoroughly excited about the upcoming production, said director Colin Cross.
“We’ve been rehearsing for several months and we’re ready and anxious to get going,” said Cross. “Other theatre groups in Penticton had developed a working relationship with management at Tinhorn Creek, but it has been some time now since they have hosted live theatre.
“We kind of revisited the idea a couple of months ago and they were willing to give it a try.”
The Miradoro Restaurant at Tinhorn Creek overlooks the amphitheatre stage and is almost always full during the busy tourist season, so the plan is for this production to be staged in a small area of the large stage so restaurant patrons can dine without being interrupted by the performers, said Cross.
“What we’re going to do is bring a whole bunch of chairs and stage the play in one corner so there’s not a lot of noise and people at the restaurant won’t be bothered,” he said. “We’ve already checked out the site and this should work well. Being able to perform outdoors in a beautiful setting like the one provided at Tinhorn Creek should make for a very memorable experience for our performers and the audience.”
The theatre group will be performing nine shows of Twelfth Night during a mini tour of the South Okanagan.
Other performances are scheduled for Township 7 Vineyards and Winery in Penticton on Aug. 7, 8 and 9, Summer Gate winery in Summerland on Aug. 13 and 14 and then wrapping things up with performances at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Aug. 15 and 16.
Taking on any Shakespeare production is challenging, but the members of the theatre group have risen to the occasion and he’s confident theatre fans will be very impressed and entertained, said Cross.
“We’ve been rehearsing for more than two months for this tour, so everybody knows exactly what they’re doing,” he said. “Taking on Shakespeare is always a tremendous challenge, but our group wanted to do this, put in the hard work and they’re ready to get going.
“The reason we’re doing nine shows is because everyone involved put in so much hard work and they didn’t want to just do one or two shows. We’ve all put in a lot of time and effort and we’re really looking forward to performing.”
Shakespeare has written too many famous plays to mention, but Twelfth Night is considered “one of his three great comedies, alongside Much Ado About Nothing and As You Light It,” said Cross.
While he has performed in several Shakespeare productions as an actor, this is his first kick as directing and he has had a great time working with the actors and production crew getting ready for this tour, said Cross.
“The cast and crew has really been great to work with,” he said. “There’s been a lot of co-operation as I’ve tried to be really open to any good ideas or suggestions to make the production better. It has been a really collaborative effort and a lot of fun.”
Cross is hopeful there will be very good response by Tinhorn Creek management and that more community theatre groups in the South Okanagan will be able to access this outstanding facility to put on shows in the future.
Tickets for the two performances at Tinhorn Creek are $20 for adults, while children 12 and under can attend free of charge if accompanied.
Tickets can be purchased at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards, the Dragon’s Den art shop in Penticton or at the door the evening of the performances.
Those wanting to attend should arrive around 7 p.m. with the play set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
